Where Life May Lead. . .
by Wings of Stars
Summary: And you thought that you'd gotten rid of me. . . . (formerly known as Kazzma). Just a warm H/H fic that made me feel all warm and fuzzy.


Well, this is a Harry/Hermione fic, like all of my others. I own nothing!! Don't sue me. . . all you'll get is. . . hm . . . 23 cents and some pocket lint. And trust me, it costs lots more than that to get a lawyer. So. . . on with the story! 

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She breathed in the cool air of the morning, and tucked the red covers around herself a little more tightly. She squeezed here eyes shut more tightly against light of day.

"Oh, come off it, no more sleep for you," Lavender said teasingly. 

"Please??" Hermione half-begged, blinking and turning to face Lavender.

"Nope. I've been up for almost an hour, it's your turn to face the reality of another day."

"Alright, alright," Hermione sighed, pulling herself out of bed. She got ready for the day, and headed down to breakfast.

"Good morning, sunshine," Harry said sarcastically upon her arrival. She sat down next to him, and sleepily got herself a bowl of porridge.

"Oy, shut up," she replied, still groggily.

"Did you not get enough sleep?" Ron asked from across the table.

"I'm afraid not. You know how my roommates are. . . they stretch Friday night to the limit. Well, going outside is out of the question, today," Hermione commented, looking up at the ceiling for the first time. It was gray with thick layers of clouds, that threatened to burst with rain at any given moment.

"Oh, come on! Are you not up for an adventure??" Harry said mischievously.

"I'm not. . . I'm stuck with homework. Didn't do any of it last night. Guess I should do it now, huh? See you guys later," Ron complained, and left in the general direction of the common room.

"He left abruptly," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's more likely going off with Lavender than doing homework," Harry chuckled. They both got up from the table. They started off toward the common room also, when Harry got a sly look on his face.

"What are you planning?" Hermione asked him flatly.

"Come on!" Harry said excitedly, and grabbed her wrist. He half-dragged her out onto the grounds.

The moment they stepped outside, the clouds gave way and rain fell heavily into the dimness of the morning. The water immediately began to soak the two of them.

"Wonderful," Hermione said sarcastically, trying to shake away the water, but not trying to leave.

"Oh, come on. Isn't it great out here?" Harry said sincerely, and looked into her eyes.

Hermione stared into those green eyes and the scar on his forehead that stood out so clearly against the dim grayness of everything. _'Only because you're out here'_ she thought. "It's fine, I guess," she said dryly, despite how wet everything was.

"Hey! Look at this!!" he exclaimed, and jumped hard on the grass. When he did so, I burst of rainwater flew out of the ground around his feet. She laughed a little at this.

"And you're how old?" she inquired teasingly, not expecting an answer.

What she got was this: "A very mature sixteen." Throughout the sentence, he barely forced a straight face. They both started laughing at the same time.

"I'm getting cold," Hermione shivered, hugging her arms around herself.

_'Perfect opportunity, Harry'_ Harry mentally told himself, looking at his friends shivering against the grayness of the rain drenched scenery. Her once bushy hair was now drenched and sticking to her slick cheeks. Harry's courage-o-meter had seemed to have dropped to a negative number, but fought his way over to her.

He leaned in very close to her, and she was surprised by this. "Do you want to go inside?" he whispered in her ear.

She stepped back and looked at him, thinking _'Not for the world'._ "No, I'm fine."

He grabbed her hands, and they felt cold. "You are not fine. You're going to freeze to death if I keep you out here any longer," he said sincerely, rubbing her hands in his. The warmth of this surprised Hermione, and she was in double awe because of how nice he was, and how close he was.

She was about to tell him what she felt, when he dragged her back inside. The warmth inside of the castle flooded around them, but they were both still cold. She looked around, shivering.

"Well, come on," he said, and dragged her toward the common room.

When they got to the portrait of the fat lady, they both blushed as they realized that they'd been holding hands the entire way. Harry gave the fat lady the password, and she swung forward.

In the common room, Ron and Lavender were sitting at a table by the fire. They had their homework out, but it looked as if they weren't getting anywhere with it too quickly. There were other people around, doing homework, playing chess, and other things. Hermione looked down at her drenched clothes.

"I'm going to go change," she smiled, and went to her room.

"Hey, I saw that out there," Lavender, who'd followed her in, said, closing the door.

"So?" Hermione asked, knowing quite well what Lavender was thinking.

"Did you tell him?"

"Of course I didn't. He kept talking, and wouldn't let me say anything," Hermione walked into the bathroom.

"You're making excuses."

"I know. I'm just so afraid of what he'll say," Hermione said, in a desperate tone of voice.

"Just tell him. I'm sure he'll appreciate the truth," Lavender replied. Hermione walked out of the bathroom in dry clothes, towel-drying her hair.

"Yeah, like I'm just going to walk up to him and unexpectedly say, 'Harry, I love you with all my heart and soul'?" she said in a mocking voice.

"Sure, why not??"

"You're hopeless," Hermione rolled her eyes, threw the towel back in the bathroom, and walked down to the common room. 

Harry was sitting alone on a couch, reading something. Hermione walked over and sat next to him. He looked up from the book and smiled at her. She could see something mischievous growing in his eyes. What was he up to?

Obviously, it didn't matter at the moment. Harry urged her to help him with his homework, which reminded her that she hadn't gotten anywhere either. They did their homework, played chess, and just did anything to remain in one another's company.

That night, Hermione sat alone with Harry in front of the dying fire in the common room. Their books were open, but all the homework had been done. Harry was curled on the couch, and Hermione was stretched out on the carpet. She had her eyes closed, and looked as if she were asleep.

"Hermione," Harry said, softly and with a little courage behind it.

"Yes?" Hermione replied, opening her eyes, and staring him straight in the face.

'_This is going to be harder than thought'_ Harry told himself. "This may change the way you think about me, but. . ."

"Harry, I love you," Hermione said, clasping a hand to her mouth as soon as the words had come out. She sat up, eyes wide, and blushed, quickly looking away. Harry slid off of the couch and half-crawled, half-slid over to where she was.

"I love you, too. Don't worry so much," he whispered, and took her face in his hand. He gently kissed her eyelids and her forehead. He put his arms around her, and held her. She leaned into him, feeling perfectly content.

"So, where do we go from here?" She asked, looking up at him in the semi-darkness.

He stared right back at her with all the sincerity and love he felt. "We'll go wherever life takes us," his hand searched for hers, and he held it, "I just hope where it takes me is where it takes you."

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Now that you've read it. . . would you please be so kind as to leave me a review??? Any and all flames will be used to feed my fire-eating ferret. Thank you much!

  
  
  
  



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